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navigation. In 1808, the exports were valued at £1,156,060, BOOK and the imports are said to have exceeded £610,000. LXXVIII. Three hundred and thirty-four vessels, capable of containing Exports

70,275 tons, sailed from Quebec in that year. The number and imof sailors who were engaged in the service amounted to ports. S,S30 men. In 1810, 661 vessels were employed, the burden of which was calculated at 143,893 tons; these ships were manned with 6000 seamen. The imports that were then brought into Quebec were valued at £972,837; if we addto them those conveyed by Gaspé and Lake Champlain, the whole sum will exceed £1,050,000. The exports from the harbour of Quebec in the same year, were computed at £1,294,000, which, with the exports from Labrador, Gaspé, and Lake Champlain, may be estimated at £1,500,000.

Canada, considered as a military power, forms the prin- Military cipal link in that chain of British possessions in North Ame- importance rica, which extends from Acadia and Newfoundland, to the vicinity of Lake Winnipeg. As long as the English nation retains the advantages which these colonies afford it, England will always be the most formidable enemy, or the most useful ally, of the great American republic, the only rival that has been able to contend with the modern queen of the

ocean.

tribes, the

We do not propose to give a minute account of the savage Savage tribes that dwell on the confines of Canada. The country Hurons. of the Hurons is situated on the north and the east of the lake which bears their name; they have also a considerable town on the banks of the Detroit. Some scattered villages on the river Oure, are peopled by Mohawk Indians, and by the remains of the tribes that were called the Six Nations. The Mississagus, the faithful friends of the Algonquins, still inhabit that part of the peninsula of Canada near the sources of the river Credit. The Iroquois are for the most Iroquois. part settled on the banks of the Ottawa; they are now, however, but the feeble remnant of that once formidable and generous tribe.

Mr. Lambert saw, at the house of one of his friends, Captain John, an old Iroquois chief, who assisted the English

BOOK in the American war. The veteran related an anecdote, reLXXVIII. specting the narrow escape which himself and a British officer had made. The latter happened to be dressed in green, like some of the Americans, and as they were skirmishing in the woods, the two parties came suddenly on each other. John and the officer presented their rifles, and were about to fire, when the Englishman called upon him by name; he spoke very opportunely, for another moment might have. been too late. The old warrior declared, as the big tear trickled down his sun-burnt cheek, that both of them were likely to have perished, for they were excellent shots. This chief had a daughter, who was celebrated for her beauty: being attached to an English gentleman, her love became too powerful for her virtue. After having a child to her lover, he refused to comply with the ceremony of marriage; on this account she armed herself with a brace of pistols, and went in pursuit of her Theseus. It is affirmed, that her desire to avenge her honour was so great, that the false Englishman never ventured afterwards to appear in the country.

The

Different tribes.

The Indian village of Cachenonaga is not far from Montreal, it contains 1200 inhabitants, who are descended from the Agniers, a tribe of the Iroquois. Although bitter enemies to the French, they were partly civilized and converted to the Christian faith by the indefatigable zeal of the Jesuits. The women are particularly solemn and devout in their deportment, and are strongly attached to the Holy Virgin. From a sense of religion and humanity, they educate the illegitimate children that are forsaken by their European parents. The Chevalier Lorimier was employed by government as the interpreter of these tribes. He married successively two Indian women, and adopted so much the manners and customs of the country, that he appeared latterly more like an Iroquois than a Frenchman.

The Tummiskamings speak the Algonquin, or Knistenan dialect, and dwell towards the north of the Ottawa. The country of the Algonquins extends along the river St. Maurice. There are still some hamlets in the vicinity of

BOOK

Quebec, that are inhabited by Christianized Hurons, who speak the French language. Some native tribes,* near the LXXVIII. environs of Lake St. John, and the country on the north of the river Saguenay, live at peace with their neighbours, and begin to cultivate the ground. It is likely that these savages are the descendants of the Algonquins.

ancient in

In going down the river St. Lawrence, we observe on Gaspé, its our right a country that resembles very much the moun- habitants. tainous districts of Canada. It abounds with wood, and is watered by many rivers, but its climate is variable and unwholesome, on account of the thick fogs which are exhaled from the sea. The name of this district is Gaspé, the native country of an Indian tribe that was remarkable for its civilization, and its worship of the sun. The Gaspésians were acquainted with the different points of the compass; they observed the positions of some of the stars, and traced geographical maps of their country with sufficient accuracy. Many of this people worshipped the cross, before our missionaries arrived amongst them; they still retain a curious tradition, concerning a venerable person who cured them of an epidemy, by making them acquainted with that holy figure. The bishop of Greenland, that attempted to Christianize the natives of Vinland in 1121, may perhaps pretend to the honour of being the apostle of the Gaspésians. The name of Gaspé is now only given to the country that lies between the river St. Lawrence and Chaleur's bay.

New Brunswick extends, in one direction, towards the New Gulf of St. Lawrence, and, in the other, to the Bay of Fundy. Brunswick. It is bounded by the United States on the west; and terminates on the south at the isthmus which leads to Nova Scotia. The prosperity, population, and agriculture of this country, have increased of late years. The river St. John is navigable by vessels of fifty tons burden, for nearly fifty miles; and merchandise can be easily transported in boats three

*The Pikougamis, the Mistissings, and the Papinachis.

+ Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspésie, par Le P. Leclerk. Paris, 1672.

[blocks in formation]

Produc

merce.

BOOK times that distance. The effects of the tide are perceptible LXXVIII. for a very considerable way up the river. It abounds with salmon, sea-wolves, and sturgeons. Its banks are verdant, tions, com- rich, and fertilized by annual inundations; they are covered in several places with lofty trees. An easy communication is afforded to the inhabitants of New Brunswick with Quebec, by means of this river. The exports, that consist of timber, fish, and furs, occupied in 1810 not less than 410 ships, of 87,690 tons. The caribou, the moose-deer, the tiger-cat, the bear, and other Canadian animals, have been observed here, although many of them are unknown in Nova Scotia. There are at present more than (a) 150,000 colonists in the territory of New Brunswick; and the indigenous tribe of the Marechites is reduced to little more than 100 men. Fredericktown, which is situated on the river St. John, is the capital of the province. The city of St. Ann is nearly opposite to it. There are some other towns of less consequence, not far from the Bay of Fundy. (b)

Towns.

Acadia, or
Nova
Scotia.

Climate.

The English have kept possession of Acadia from the year 1713. They divided it into two provinces in 1784, after the peace that confirmed the independence of the United States. The first of these districts is formed by the eastern peninsula, and retains the name of Nova Scotia, which was given to the whole country before its division; the western part of the province was reserved for the German troops in the service of Great Britain, who wished to establish themselves in America, and it received on that account the appellation of New Brunswick.

The climate of Nova Scotia, in common with the adjoining portion of America, is very cold in winter, but its harbours are never frozen. The mists which rise from the sea, render the atmosphere gloomy and unwholesome. There are generally some days of delightful weather in spring, and the warmth of summer, which brings forward the harvest

(a) [See Note on page 144.]-AM. Ed.

(b) [The city of St. John's near the mouth of the river of the same name, is the most populous and commercial town in the province. Its population in 1821, was estimated at nearly 10.000.-AM. ED.

in a short time, is equal to that of the southern countries of BOOK Europe. This country, although generally rugged and LXXVIII. mountainous, contains several pleasant and fertile hills, particularly in the vicinity of the Bay of Fundy, and near the banks of the rivers, which are there discharged into the sea. Vast marshes, that extended twenty and twenty-five leagues into the interior of the country, have been drained and cultivated. The plains and the hills present an agreeable variety of fields, sown with wheat, rye, maize, hemp, and lint. Different kinds of fruit, of which the best are the gooseberry and rasp, flourish in the woods that overtop the heights, and cover the greater part of the province.

The forests are interspersed with oaks, that are well Trees, adapted for ship-building; but they abound chiefly in fir and pine, together with birch and mastich-trees. There is a great variety of game and wild fowl in Nova Scotia. The rivers are stored with salmon; and the fishing companies send cod, herring, and mackerel to Europe. The numerous bays, harbours, and creeks, facilitate greatly every sort of commerce; and many of the rivers are navigable, and advantageously situated, for the carriage of goods. Frequent emigrations, and the banishment of the ancient French settlers, who, although they called themselves neutral, were suspected of having assisted the natives in the war which they waged against their new masters, tended to decrease the population of this country after its occupation by the English. The British government did not pay much attention to the interests of the colony, until the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. More than 4000 disbanded soldiers and mariners were induced to remove to it with their families, by liberal concessions of land, and by the promise of the assistance of the mother-country. They were carried thither at the expense of government; fifty acres were assigned to each individual, and their property

* There seems to be some doubt about the name of the aborigines of NovaScotia; they have been called by different settlers, Micmaks, Mikemacks, and Mikmoses.

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